BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille Installation

RacerDad · 09-11-2016, 09:49 AM

I know there are other posts on this topic, but I thought I would show you how I did it.

The grilles arrived with my floor mats yesterday (floor mat installation post).

Below are the part numbers for the grilles:

BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille / Left
51712336816

BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille / Right
51712336815

For the job you will need a T-30 TORX screwdriver or socket, thin arms, and good hand skills.

1. Open the hood and remove the hood seal that runs across the front.

2. Remove the six T-30 TORX bolts holding on the top of the bumper cover. Be sure to note the location of the witness marks on the cover so that you can reinstall the bumper in the same location. Also notice the four metal clips and the tabs on the headlights that the bumper cover slides into.

3. Pull the bumper cover forward to access the back of the grilles.

4. It is most helpful if you look at the new grille before you start to learn how the clips work and where they are in reference to the face of the grille. There are three clips across the top of the grille, two on the bottom, and one on each side. Push down on the center of the clip while pulling on the face of the grille. I starting with the top three, then moved to the side closest to the middle of the car, then released the two bottom clips, and finally the side clip near the headlight. For the bottom clips you will need to pull the bumper cover more than you think you should. Put your hand under the grille and press up on the the clip. Take your time and it will be OK (this is where thin arms work best). You should not break any of the clips on the old grille.

5. Once you have the first grille out, the second one is much easier. DO NOT INSTALL THE NEW GRILLES UNTIL YOU HAVE REMOVED BOTH OLD ONES. Follow the same steps for the second grille.

6. Install the new grilles by pressing them into their respective slots in the bumper cover. You should hear them click into place.

7. Push the bumper cover back into place making sure the cover slips under the metal clips and the tabs on the headlights. When reinstalling the bolts, use the witness marks on the bumper cover to ensure the cover is installed in the same position you removed it.

8. Reinstall the hood seal. Be sure that you press the seal completely into its track. The seal should not have any waviness on the top or bottom.

9. Close the hood and check the gap between the hood and bumper cover. If it is off, you will need to pull the seal back, loosen the bolts on the side that needs adjusting, and adjust the bumper either forwards or backwards. I had to do this several times before I had the gap correct. The witness marks only serve as a guide to get it close.

10. Admire you handiwork.

Joe240 · 09-14-2016, 04:46 AM

Thanks for posting this. I'll be doing my IND ones in about 2 weeks and was curious how hard it was gonna be. My wife is 5'1" so has small arms, I'll let her do it

RonCawley · 09-16-2016, 02:44 PM

Great look and thanks for the "how to" post. Plan to do mine soon.

2seriesaddict · 09-16-2016, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe240

Thanks for posting this. I'll be doing my IND ones in about 2 weeks and was curious how hard it was gonna be. My wife is 5'1" so has small arms, I'll let her do it

I see what you did there

siwo · 09-25-2016, 01:12 AM

I wonder if there's a DIY tool out there that someone designed to assist with the removal of this. Like... a coat hanger twisted to reach around and have like some sort of rubber thing at the end of the hanger to press in on the tab.

Joe240 · 09-25-2016, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siwo

I wonder if there's a DIY tool out there that someone designed to assist with the removal of this. Like... a coat hanger twisted to reach around and have like some sort of rubber thing at the end of the hanger to press in on the tab.

I did mine on Saturday morning and holy crap the first one was such a huge pain in the ass. my forearm is all cut and scraped from trying to get the first out. Ended up having my wife reach in to do the clips while I pulled. Problem I was having is that the top 3 were undone, so tried to get the side ones and I could or they already were, but having the top pulled out a little made it impossible to press the bottom ones to get the bottom loose. Needed constant pulling on the grill so they wouldn't pop back into place.

Just make sure after you get the first one out, to use the opening to remove the second by reaching in and pressing everything. Came out 10000 times easier that way.

RacerDad · 09-25-2016, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Needed constant pulling on the grill so they wouldn't pop back into place.

That is a great point. With one hand you need to release the clips while the other hand continues to apply pulling pressure to the front of the grill so that the clips you released do not reseat.

Joe240 · 09-25-2016, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacerDad

That is a great point. With one hand you need to release the clips while the other hand continues to apply pulling pressure to the front of the grill so that the clips you released do not reseat.

Yea but unfortunately that means your wrist is getting sliced by the inner part of the grill area lol. This job is best performed with a second set of hands

Sir Thomas Bombadil · 09-26-2016, 09:19 AM

Another alternative is to use a dremel to cut 2 slats out of one of your grilles. It's easy at that point to reach in to remove both grilles. This is, of course, assuming you're not looking to resell those grilles or install them later.

I understand that unscrewing a few things probably isn't that difficult, but for those people who don't like the idea of pulling the bumper back, I think the dremel is the way to go. I didn't plan on keeping the old grilles, so that's the approach I took. Took me all of 3 minutes.

Joe240 · 09-26-2016, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Thomas Bombadil

Another alternative is to use a dremel to cut 2 slats out of one of your grilles. It's easy at that point to reach in to remove both grilles. This is, of course, assuming you're not looking to resell those grilles or install them later.

I understand that unscrewing a few things probably isn't that difficult, but for those people who don't like the idea of pulling the bumper back, I think the dremel is the way to go. I didn't plan on keeping the old grilles, so that's the approach I took. Took me all of 3 minutes.

I also did this myself from the frustration, but my wife insisted on trying to help so we could keep the factory grills just incase.

09-11-2016, 09:49 AM	#1
RacerDad Private First Class 158 Rep 121 Posts Drives: M235i Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Virginia Beach, VA iTrader: (0)	BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille Installation I know there are other posts on this topic, but I thought I would show you how I did it. The grilles arrived with my floor mats yesterday (floor mat installation post). Below are the part numbers for the grilles: BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille / Left 51712336816 BMW M Performance Black Kidney Grille / Right 51712336815 For the job you will need a T-30 TORX screwdriver or socket, thin arms, and good hand skills. 1. Open the hood and remove the hood seal that runs across the front. 2. Remove the six T-30 TORX bolts holding on the top of the bumper cover. Be sure to note the location of the witness marks on the cover so that you can reinstall the bumper in the same location. Also notice the four metal clips and the tabs on the headlights that the bumper cover slides into. 3. Pull the bumper cover forward to access the back of the grilles. 4. It is most helpful if you look at the new grille before you start to learn how the clips work and where they are in reference to the face of the grille. There are three clips across the top of the grille, two on the bottom, and one on each side. Push down on the center of the clip while pulling on the face of the grille. I starting with the top three, then moved to the side closest to the middle of the car, then released the two bottom clips, and finally the side clip near the headlight. For the bottom clips you will need to pull the bumper cover more than you think you should. Put your hand under the grille and press up on the the clip. Take your time and it will be OK (this is where thin arms work best). You should not break any of the clips on the old grille. 5. Once you have the first grille out, the second one is much easier. DO NOT INSTALL THE NEW GRILLES UNTIL YOU HAVE REMOVED BOTH OLD ONES. Follow the same steps for the second grille. 6. Install the new grilles by pressing them into their respective slots in the bumper cover. You should hear them click into place. 7. Push the bumper cover back into place making sure the cover slips under the metal clips and the tabs on the headlights. When reinstalling the bolts, use the witness marks on the bumper cover to ensure the cover is installed in the same position you removed it. 8. Reinstall the hood seal. Be sure that you press the seal completely into its track. The seal should not have any waviness on the top or bottom. 9. Close the hood and check the gap between the hood and bumper cover. If it is off, you will need to pull the seal back, loosen the bolts on the side that needs adjusting, and adjust the bumper either forwards or backwards. I had to do this several times before I had the gap correct. The witness marks only serve as a guide to get it close. 10. Admire you handiwork. __________________ 2016 M235i BSM, M/T, Sunroof Delete Last edited by RacerDad; 09-11-2016 at 09:55 AM..
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09-14-2016, 04:46 AM	#2
Joe240 Major 2925 Rep 1,303 Posts Drives: 2021 C8 Corvette 1LT Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Pensacola iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 [0.00] 2019 BMW X3 M40i [0.00]	Thanks for posting this. I'll be doing my IND ones in about 2 weeks and was curious how hard it was gonna be. My wife is 5'1" so has small arms, I'll let her do it
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09-16-2016, 02:44 PM	#3
RonCawley Enlisted Member 7 Rep 36 Posts Drives: 2016 228i xDrive - on order! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Springfield, Il iTrader: (0)	Great look and thanks for the "how to" post. Plan to do mine soon.
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09-25-2016, 01:12 AM	#5
siwo Lieutenant 116 Rep 509 Posts Drives: 2016 M235i RWD 6MT Join Date: May 2016 Location: Toronto, Canada iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 BMW M235i Coup ... [0.00]	I wonder if there's a DIY tool out there that someone designed to assist with the removal of this. Like... a coat hanger twisted to reach around and have like some sort of rubber thing at the end of the hanger to press in on the tab. __________________ 2016 M235i RWD 6MT - Current! as of July 28/16 2015 ES350 6AT - Traded In 2004 RX330 5AT - Sold 2004 Civic Coupe Si(EX) 5MT - Retired 1993 Civic Coupe Si(EX) 5MT - Retired
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09-26-2016, 09:19 AM	#9
Sir Thomas Bombadil Private 45 Rep 51 Posts Drives: AW M235 6MT Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: GA iTrader: (0)	Another alternative is to use a dremel to cut 2 slats out of one of your grilles. It's easy at that point to reach in to remove both grilles. This is, of course, assuming you're not looking to resell those grilles or install them later. I understand that unscrewing a few things probably isn't that difficult, but for those people who don't like the idea of pulling the bumper back, I think the dremel is the way to go. I didn't plan on keeping the old grilles, so that's the approach I took. Took me all of 3 minutes.
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